Chuck Staben owes us more explanations, especially if he is right.

This was difficult to sit down and write. Honestly, I expected to have this out there last week. The words simply would not come out onto the screen each time I’ve sat down to write this.

It’s Idaho, Chuck Staben and the Big Sky! This shit is hard.

But, I’d like to thank Matt Linehan, arguably the face of the university at the moment, for putting it much more perfectly than I can.

Fresh off of a 381-yard, four-touchdown night during a 61-point output and a bowl victory, the junior quarterback had some choice words for our university president by calling him tone deaf.

Yes sir. Chuck Staben. Tone deaf.

He said these words while claiming Idaho belonged at the FBS level. They followed a four-win season with a nine-win season and will more than likely complete 20 wins in three seasons with Matt Linehan under center for one more season, Idaho’s last in the Sun Belt Conference and the FBS level.

Linehan later apologized for the comments and walked back on them. He did this because he’s a mature individual who doesn’t hold vindictive feelings for a person I’m sure he has respect for.

His words, though, were not out of line. They were certainly justified.

Then, last night, Idaho’s graduating tight end and one of the leaders of the offense had this to say:

Okay, well, I’m worried about the drop in revenue, the long-term effect on other programs and visibi….. Chuck? You still there?

And this is where the conversation ends. Instead of answers we get campaign slogans.

Do you know what we actually need right now?

Civil. Discourse.

Oh, but has he told you about the University of Chicago yet?

Staben amused us in the press conference by comparing this drop to the University of Chicago, when it reality the situations have literally nothing in common.

If we are speaking in factual terms, which we like to do in journalism, then the fact of the matter is that what Idaho is doing is completely unprecedented. And that kind of decision requires civil discourse.

The decision, announcement and press conference to move down to the FCS happened just about a month after the Sun Belt announced it would not extend its four-year agreement with Idaho.

While the decision was certainly mulled upon before the Sun Belt’s vote, one month is not enough time for Chuck Staben to not only get the thoughts of his athletic director, who had been making these difficult decisions for a decade, but also the coaches and players who will explicitly deal with this decision. It’s not enough time for Staben to talk to the donor and season ticket base.

Discussions should have happened when a Sun Belt-less future became reality.

And this isn’t just to poll for our opinions, which obviously would have been FBS, but for Staben to argue his case.

If Staben is going to make this decision than the onus is on him to do the necessary research. It’s on you to not just tell me how you’ve talked with Spear to make sure programs won’t get cut. It’s on you to tell us specifically why FBS independence wasn’t even possible or why the fictional Big Sky Conference deadline couldn’t have been pushed back.

It’s on you to impassionately tell us why this is right, not give us gibberish.

The Big Sky had a standing offer for Idaho for 20 years and there is not a single program out there attractive enough to take Idaho’s spot as the 14th Big Sky football program. A new commissioner wasn’t going to change course and pull that offer.

But at least he made his intentions clear. His comment on football complimenting the university, and not the other way around, is telling. It’s honestly not an upsetting place for him to come from.

Personally, I can get behind and love that aspect. A vast majority of college football programs are a drain on universities, using institutional and state subsidies with almost no chance of explicitly giving that money back. Instead, that money is “invested” for image and the chance of increased visibility and income if the program wins.

Okay, but you have coaches and freshmen in other programs who have no idea if they’ll be able to compete through the course of their four years or if they’ll have jobs when Idaho’s football guarantee games start to pay the FCS standard of $500K a pop, as compared to the seven figures they currently get to keep other programs afloat. Because, remember, Idaho’s athletic department currently breaks even right now because of massive university subsidies and nearly $2 Million a year in guarantee games.

Matt Linehan owes no apology for what he said following the bowl game. The body of work he and this program have put in since 2013 will have no reverberations past 2018. Winning a bowl game in 2016 and 2017 means nothing after the drop, when the slashing of scholarships and drastically different recruiting strategy means the program will have to completely re-invent itself.

They weren’t even given the opportunity to at least plead their case. If they were, then they wouldn’t resort to using the media to get their message out.

At the end of the day, even the #FIRECHUCKSTABEN crowd wants the same thing as those who are fully behind the FCS transition. We want a healthy University of Idaho football program that gives us something to be proud of. Most of us could get behind and rally around the Big Sky.

But, this wasn’t the way to go about it.

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Published by Sean Kramer

Sean Kramer is a freelance journalist and educator located in Taipei City. He graduated from the University of Idaho in 2014 and has spent more than seven years working with various publications.
View all posts by Sean Kramer

3 thoughts on “Chuck Staben owes us more explanations, especially if he is right.”

Your link to the article about Spear wanting to stay in FBS is puzzling. The article says clearly that Spear DRAFTED an email. That means it was written but not necessarily sent. When I looked deeper, I found that indeed, Athletic Director Rob Spear drafted the letter but DID NOT SEND IT. An email that is not sent is telling. He didn’t send the email and it is incorrect for you to guess that he really meant it. We are all adults. What matters is what we do, not what we think. You blew it on this one.

Thank you for reading and for your response. The Lewiston Tribune journalist obtained emails that were written and sent and the email I wanted to highlight through the link was the one where Spear asked for the announcement to be delayed. Thanks for your insight, I’ll look more into this.

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Sean Kramer
A proud 2014 University of Idaho graduate and washed up journalist who started a website because I still had hot takes and things to say about Vandal sports. I've established my platform and now I want to give you the chance to use it. Tubs at the Club now belongs to you - The Vandal fan, the Vandal Alum, the current Vandal, the Vandal employee ... Whatever your connection I want this website to be yours. Thank you for supporting my endeavor and welcome to Tubs at the Club.